Driver assistance system for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A driver assistance system for a vehicle includes a forward facing and a control having an image processor that processes image data captured by the camera. At least in part responsive to processing by the image processor, an alert to a driver of the equipped vehicle is generated based upon at least one of (i) detection of an inappropriate lane change maneuver of the equipped vehicle and (ii) a detection of a potential impact with another vehicle. The image processor processes image data captured by the forward facing camera to detect a traffic control device present within the field of view of the forward facing camera, and the system may generate an alert to the driver when it is determined that the vehicle is not appropriately responding to the detected traffic control device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/483,996, filed Jun. 12, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,466,806, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/058,155, filed Mar.28, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,551,103, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/735,782, filed Apr. 16, 2007, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,355,524, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/108,474, filed Apr. 18, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,205,904,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/209,173,filed on Jul. 31, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,882,287, which claimspriority from U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/309,022, filed onJul. 31, 2001, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to object detection adjacent a motor vehicle asit travels along a highway, and more particularly relates to imagingsystems that view the blind spot adjacent a vehicle and/or that view thelane adjacent the side of a vehicle and/or view the lane behind orforward the vehicle as it travels down a highway.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Camera-based systems have been proposed, such as in commonly assignedpatent application Ser. No. 09/372,915, filed Aug. 12, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,396,397, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference, that detect and display the presence, position of,distance to and rate of approach of vehicles, motorcycles, bicyclists,and the like, approaching a vehicle such as approaching from behind toovertake in a side lane to the vehicle. The image captured by suchvehicular image capture systems can be displayed as a real-time image orby icons on a video screen, and with distances, rates of approach andobject identifiers being displayed by indicia and/or overlays, such asis disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,670,935; 5,949,331; and 6,222,447, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Suchprior art systems work well. However, it is desirable for a vehicledriver to have visual access to the full 360 degrees surrounding thevehicle. It is not uncommon, however, for a vehicle driver to experienceblind spots due to the design of the vehicle bodywork, windows and therearview mirror system. A blind spot commonly exists between the fieldof view available to the driver through the exterior rearview mirror andthe driver's peripheral limit of sight. Blind Spot Detection Systems(BSDS), in which a specified zone, or set of zones in the proximity ofthe vehicle, is monitored for the presence of other road users orhazardous objects, have been developed. A typical BSDS may monitor atleast one zone approximately one traffic lane wide on the left- orright-hand side of the vehicle, and generally from the driver's positionto approximately 10 m rearward. The objective of these systems is toprovide the driver an indication of the presence of other road userslocated in the targeted blind spot.

Imaging systems have been developed in the prior art, such as discussedabove, to perform this function, providing a visual, audio or tactilewarning to the driver should a lane change or merge maneuver beattempted when another road user or hazard is detected within themonitored zone or zones. These systems are typically used in combinationwith a system of rearview mirrors in order to determine if a trafficcondition suitable for a safe lane change maneuver exists. They areparticularly effective when the detected object is moving at a lowrelative velocity with reference to the detecting vehicle, since thedetected object may spend long periods of time in the blind spot and thedriver may lose track of surrounding objects. However, prior art systemsare inadequate in many driving conditions.

Known lane departure warning systems typically rely on visuallydetecting markers on the road on both sides of the vehicle for lanecenter determination. These markers must be fairly continuous orfrequently occurring and generally must exist on both sides of thevehicle for the lane center position to be determined. Failure to detecta marker usually means failure of the departure-warning algorithm toadequately recognize a lane change event.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a Lane Change Aid (LCA) system whereinthe driver of a motor vehicle traveling along a highway is warned if anyunsafe lane change or merge maneuver is attempted, regardless ofinformation available through the vehicle's rearview mirror system. TheLane Change Aid (LCA) system of the present invention extends thedetection capability of the blind spot detection systems of the priorart.

A vehicle lane change aid system, according to an aspect of theinvention, includes a detector that is operative to detect the presenceof another vehicle adjacent the vehicle, an indicator for providing anindication that a lane change maneuver of the equipped vehicle mayaffect the other vehicle and a control receiving movement information ofthe equipped vehicle. The control develops a position history of theequipped vehicle at least as a function of the movement information. Thecontrol compares the detected presence of the other vehicle with theposition history and provides the indication when a lane change maneuvermay affect the other vehicle.

A vehicle lane change aid system, according to an aspect of theinvention, includes an imaging device for capturing lane edge images anda control that is responsive to an output of said imaging device torecognize lane edge positions. The control is operable to distinguishbetween certain types of lane markers. The control may distinguishbetween dashed-lane markers and non-dashed-line markers.

A vehicle lane change aid system, according to an aspect of theinvention, includes an imaging device for capturing lane edge images anda control that is responsive to an output of said imaging device torecognize lane edge positions. The control is operative to determinethat the vehicle has departed a lane. The control may notify the driverthat a lane has been departed. The control may further include oncomingvehicle monitoring and side object detection.

A vehicle lane change aid system, according to an aspect of theinvention, includes a forward-facing imaging device for capturing imagesof other vehicles and a control that is responsive to an output of saidimaging device to determine an imminent collision with another vehicle.The control may include a wireless transmission channel to transmit asafety warning to the other vehicle. The control may also activate ahorn or headlights of the equipped vehicle of an imminent collision.

These and other objects, advantages and features of this invention willbecome apparent upon review of the following specification inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 a-1 c are top plan views illustrating a vehicle equipped with alane change aid system, according to the invention, traveling a straightsection of road;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a lane change aid system, according to theinvention; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view illustrating a vehicle equipped with a lanechange aid system traveling a curved section of road.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, a Lane Change Aid (LCA) system 12 of the present invention asillustrated with a vehicle 10 includes a control 18 and an indicatorand/or display system 16 that warns a vehicle operator if an intended,or attempted, lane change maneuver could cause an approaching rearwardvehicle to brake and decelerate at an unsafe rate, or that otherwiseconstitutes a highway hazard. In Lane Change Aid (LCA) system 12, thedimension, in the direction of travel, of a zone 20 to be monitored maybe calculated based on an assumed maximum relative velocity between adetecting vehicle and an approaching rearward vehicle, and a safebraking and deceleration assumption. Depending on the assumptions made,the required detection zone may vary in length, such as extendingrearward from 50 to 100 m, or more. At 100 m, the road curvature behindthe vehicle may have a significant impact on the position of the lane ofthe detected vehicle, relative to the detecting vehicle. Since it isimportant to know which lane an approaching rearward vehicle is in,relative to the detecting vehicle, in order to provide the driver anappropriate warning, and to avoid many false warnings, the Lane ChangeAid (LCA) system 12 includes developing and maintaining a lane positionhistory 20 for the space rearward of the detecting vehicle.

By combining distance traveled with steering angle, the detectingvehicle path may be plotted. Details of the last approximately 100 mtraveled are of value for lane change aids and may be stored by the LaneChange Aid (LCA) system. Data may be stored by several methods includingthe method described below.

Vehicle speed information in the Lane Change Aid (LCA) system 12 istypically derived from a wheel rotation sensor signal 24, which consistsof a number of pulses, n, per revolution of the road wheel, andavailable on a vehicle data bus 26, such as a CAN or LIN bus, or thelike. Sensing and signal detail may vary depending on vehicle design,but for any particular design, a distance, d, traveled between pulsescan be established. Also, as each pulse is detected, the current valueof the steering angle, ±α, determined by a steering angle encoder 22 maybe read from vehicle data bus 26. Again, the sensing and signal detailmay vary depending on vehicle design, but, for any particular vehicledesign, an effective turning radius, r, for the vehicle can beestablished.

Image-based blind spot detection devices and lane change aids, generallyshown at 14, are but two of a variety of sensing devices andtechnologies and devices suitable for the purpose of monitoring thelocal environment in which a vehicle operates. Radar, infrared, sonar,and laser devices are all capable of interrogating the local environmentfor the presence of other road users or obstacles to be avoided. GPSsystems can accurately determine the vehicle position on the earth'ssurface, and map data can provide detailed information of a mobile localenvironment. Other wireless communication systems 28 such as short-rangewireless communication protocols, such as BLUETOOTH, can provideinformation such as the position of road works, lane restrictions, orother hazards, which can be translated by on-board vehicle electronicsinto position data relative to the vehicle position. Lane Change Aid(LCA) system 12 may integrate all the available information from amultiplicity of sensors including non-image-based detectors 14 b, suchas a radar sensor, such as a Doppler radar sensor, and at least oneimage-based detector 14 a such as a CMOS video camera imaging sensor,and converts the various sensor outputs into a single database with acommon format, so that data from various sources, such as a Dopplerradar source and a video camera source, may be easily compared, combinedand maintained.

Consider a spherical space of radius R, and center (x, y, z)=(0, 0, 0)in Cartesian coordinates or (r, θ, β=(0,0,0)) in polar coordinates. Itis convenient to describe the space in both coordinate systems sinceseveral operations will be used to fill the data space and to maintainit and a choice of systems allows for efficient computation methods. Letthe center of this space (0, 0, 0) be at the center of the vehicle'srear axle, or nominal rear axle described by the line which passesthrough the center of the two rear non-steering wheels. Let thehorizontal centerline of the vehicle, in the primary direction oftravel, lie on (x, 0, 0), such that positive x values describe the spaceforward of the center of the vehicle's rear axle. Let the rear axlecoincide with (0, y, 0), such that positive values of y describe thespace to the right of the vehicle centerline when looking forward. (R,90, 0) describes the positive y axis. Let positive z values describe thespace above the centerline of the rear axle. (R, 0, 90) describes thepositive z axis. This “sphere of awareness” 20 moves with the vehicle asit moves through space and provides a common frame of reference for allsensed or otherwise derived data concerning the vehicle's localenvironment.

For the purpose of storing vehicle path data, which may be used toimprove the performance of lane change aid 12, the discussion may besimplified by considering only the horizontal plane. The use of polarcoordinates simplifies operations used in this application. The firstdata point, as the vehicle starts with no history, is at point (0, 0).The steering angle is read from the data bus and stored as α₀. Whenwheel rotation pulse, p₁ is detected, steering angle α₁ is recorded.Since the distance traveled between wheel pulses is known to be d, a newposition for the previous data point can be calculated as([2(1−Cosα₀)]½, (180+α₀)). This point is stored and recorded ashistorical vehicle path data. When pulse p₂ is detected, the abovecalculation is repeated to yield ([2(1−Cosα₁)]½, (180+α₁) as the newposition for the previous data point. This requires the repositioning ofthe original data to ([2(1-Cosα₀)]½+[2(1−Cosα₁)]½, [(180+α₀)+α₁]). Thisprocess is continued until the distance from the vehicle, R, reaches themaximum required value, such as 100 m in the case of a lane change aid.Data beyond this point is discarded. Thus, a continuous record of thevehicle path for the last 100 m, or whatever distance is used, may bemaintained. By maintaining a running record of the path traveled,rearward approaching vehicles detected by a lane change aid imageanalysis system may be positioned relative to that path as can be seenby comparing the other vehicle 40 in FIGS. 1 b and 1 c. In FIG. 1 b,other vehicle 40 is overlapping zone 20 so an indication of potentialconflict may be delayed or discarded. In FIG. 1 c, the other vehicle 40is moving outside of other vehicle 40 and in a blind spot of vehicle 10so an indication of potential conflict would be given to the driver withindicator 16. Thus, a determination may be made if the approachingvehicle is in the same, adjacent or next but one lane, etc. By thismeans, the number of inappropriate or unnecessary warnings may bereduced.

Lane change aid system 12 may include a controller, such as amicroprocessor including a digital signal processor microcomputer of CPUspeed at least about 5 MIPS, more preferably at least about 12 MIPS andmost preferably at least about 30 MIPS, that processes inputs frommultiple cameras 14 a and other sensors 14 b and that includes a vehiclepath history function whereby, for example, an object, such as arear-approaching car or motorcycle or truck, or the like, is selectedand its presence highlighted to the driver's attention, such as by iconson a dashboard or interior mirror-mounted display, based on the recenthistory of the side and rear lanes that the host vehicle equipped withthe controller of this invention has recently traveled in. An example isover a previous interval of about 60 seconds or less, or over a longerperiod such as about 3 minutes or more. The vehicle path historyfunction works to determine the lane positioning of an approaching othervehicle, and whether the host vehicle is traveling on, or has recentlytraveled on, a straight road as illustrated in FIGS. 1 a, 1 b and 1 c,or a curved road portion as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Control 18 may comprise a central video processor module such as isdisclosed in commonly assigned provisional patent application Ser. No.60/309,023, filed Jul. 31, 2001, by Martha A. McMahon entitled VIDEOPROCESSOR MODULE FOR USE IN A VEHICULAR VIDEO SYSTEM, and utility patentapplication filed concurrently herewith by Martha A McMahon entitledVIDEO PROCESSOR MODULE FOR USE IN A VEHICULAR VIDEO SYSTEM, now U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/209,181, filed Jul. 31, 2002, andpublished Feb. 6, 2003 as U.S. Publication No. US2003/0025793, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Suchvideo processor module operates to receive multiple image outputs fromvehicle-mounted cameras, such as disclosed in commonly assigned patentapplication Ser. No. 09/793,002, filed Feb. 26, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.6,690,268, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference, and integrates these in a central processing module to allowreaction to the local vehicle environment. Optionally, and whenbandwidth limitations exist that limit the ability to send raw imagedata, particularly high-resolution images, from a remote camera to acentral processing unit across robust transmission means, such as afiber-optic cable or a high-density wireless link, distributedprocessing can occur, at least local to some of the image capturesensors. In such an at least partial distributed processing environment,the local processors are adapted to preprocess images captured by thelocal camera or cameras and any other device such as a Doppler radarsensor viewing a blind spot in an adjacent side lane and to format thispreprocessed data into a standard format and transmit this standardformatted data. The data can be transmitted via a wired network or awireless network or over a vehicle bus system, such as a CAN bus and/ora LIN bus, or the like, to the central processor for effective,centralized mapping and combination of the total local environmentaround the vehicle. This provides the driver with a display of what ishappening in both the right and the left side lanes, and in the lanethat the host vehicle is itself traveling in.

In this regard, the vehicle can be provided with a dedicated bus andcentral processor, as described above, for providing a vehicleenvironment awareness, which can be both internal such as might beprovided by interior cabin or trunk monitors/sensors that determineoccupant presence, head position and/or movement, eye movement, air bagdeployment, microphone aiming, seat positioning, air conditioning and/orheating targeting, audio controls, and the like, or can be external tothe vehicle such as in blind spot detecting or lane change detecting.The present invention includes provision of an automatic environmentawareness function that comprises automatic gathering of sensor-deriveddata collection and transmission in a standard format via a vehicle busnetwork, said data including data relating to the vehicle environmentsuch as the exterior environment, for example, the presence ofrear-approaching traffic in side and rear lanes to the host vehicle ascaptured by rear-facing CMOS or CCD cameras on the side of the hostvehicle, such as included in a side view mirror assembly on either orboth sides of the host vehicle and/or as detected by a rear lane/sidelane-viewing Doppler radar sensor, and preferably includes processing ina central video processing unit.

The information relating to the external environment can berelayed/displayed to the driver in a variety of ways. For example, ablind-spot vehicle-presence indication can be displayed adjacent theexterior mirror assembly, such as inside the vehicle cabin local towhere the exterior mirror assembly is attached to the vehicle door sothat the indicator display used, typically an LED flashing light source,or the like, is visible to the driver but not visible to anytraffic/drivers exterior to the vehicle, but is cognitively associatedwith the side of the vehicle to which that particular nearby exteriormirror is attached to, and as disclosed in commonly assigned Pat. Nos.5,786,772; 5,929,786; and 6,198,409, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference. Optionally, a vibration transducer canbe included in the steering wheel that trembles or otherwise vibrates totactilely warn the driver of the presence of an overtaking vehicle in aside lane that the driver is using the steering wheel to turn thedriver's vehicle into where an overtaking or following vehicle mayconstitute a collision hazard. Hazard warnings can be communicated tothe driver by voice commands and/or audible warnings, and/or byheads-up-displays. The coordinate scheme for data collection of thepresent invention enables an improved blind spot and/or lane changedetection system for vehicles and particularly in busy traffic on awinding, curved road.

The present invention includes the fusion of outputs from video andnon-video sensors, such as, for example, a CMOS video camera sensor anda Doppler radar sensor, to allow all-weather and visibility side objectdetection. The present invention includes the fusion of outputs fromvideo and non-video sensors, such as, for example, a CMOS video camerasensor and a Doppler radar sensor, to allow all-weather and visibilityside object detection. The present invention can be utilized in avariety of applications such as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,670,935; 5,949,331; 6,222,447; 6,201,642; 6,097,023; 5,715,093;5,796,094; and 5,877,897 and commonly assigned patent application Ser.No. 09/793,002 filed Feb. 26, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,268, Ser.No. 09/372,915, filed Aug. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,397, Ser.No. 09/767,939, filed Jan. 23, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,590,719, Ser.No. 09/776,625, filed Feb. 5, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,202, Ser.No. 09/799,993, filed Mar. 6, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,538,827, Ser.No. 09/493,522, filed Jan. 28, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,426,492, Ser.No. 09/199,907, filed Nov. 25, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,610, Ser.No. 08/952,026, filed Nov. 19, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,620, Ser.No. 09/227,344, filed Jan. 8, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,545,International Publication No. WO 96/38319, published Dec. 5, 1996, for aREARVIEW VISION SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE INCLUDING PANORAMIC VIEW, andInternational Publication No. WO 99/23828, published May 14, 1999, for aRAIN SENSOR WITH FOG DISCRIMINATION, the disclosures of which arecollectively incorporated herein by reference.

Lane change aid system 12 may include a lane marker type recognitionalgorithm, or capability 32. Lane marker type recognition capability 32utilizes classifying lane markers as one of many specific types for thepurpose of interpreting the original purpose of the lane marker andissuing reliable and meaningful warnings based on this interpretation.As an example, a double line on the left side of a left-hand drivevehicle typically indicates a no-encroachment zone or no passing zone. Asolid line with adjacent dashed line will indicate either an ability topass safely if the dashed line is on the near side of the solid line ora do not encroach zone if the dashed line is on the far side of thesolid line. Road edges can be distinctly recognized and classified asno-encroachment zones. Conversely, dashed lines may have no significanceto lane departure warning algorithms since they merely indicate laneedge positions. Recognizing dashed lines as such gives the ability tonot initiate nuisance warnings. The recognition algorithm can further beenhanced by recognizing road features when lane markers are too weak ormissing. Features, such as curbs, road seams, grease or rubber slicks,road signs, vehicles in same, neighboring, and/or opposing lanes whenrecognized, could be used to interpret lane-vehicle positioning andissue intelligent warning alerts to the driver. Fewer false or nuisancetype warnings with improved real warning functionality and speed can berealized with this improvement. Operation under difficult lighting andenvironmental conditions can be extended.

Note that collision avoidance functionality 34 can optionally beachieved using a forward-facing camera 14 a in the present invention.For example, should the forward-looking camera detect an oncoming carlikely to collide with the vehicle equipped with the present invention,or if another vehicle tries to pull in front of it, the system of thepresent invention can issue a warning (visual and/or audible) to one orboth drivers involved. Such warning can be flash headlights and/or soundcar horn. Similarly, the system can detect that the driver of thevehicle equipped with the present invention is failing to recognize astop sign and/or a signal light, or some other warning sign and thedriver can be warned visually, such as with a warning light at theinterior mirror in the vehicle cabin, or audibly, such as via a warningbeeper, or tactilely, such as via a rumble/vibration transducer thatvibrates the steering wheel to alert the driver of a potential hazard.

System 12 may also include a lane departure warning algorithm, or system36. For example, when a left-hand drive vehicle equipped with system 10is making a left-hand turn generally across a line on the road. System36 can monitor for a lane crossing and combine it with detection of anoncoming vehicle. The system 12 may also calculate closing speed forwarning of potential impact of closing vehicles.

Also, the vehicle can be provided on its front fender or elsewhere atthe front of the vehicle with a side-looking camera as an image-baseddetector 14 a operable to warn the driver when he/she is making a leftturn across lanes of traffic coming from his/her left (left-sidewarning) and then again when he/she is about to enter traffic lanes withtraffic coming from his right (right-side warning). While executing thisturn, the system of the present invention may utilize the detection ofthe lane markers when the driver's car is about to enter the specificlane combined with oncoming vehicle detection as a means of predictivewarning before he actually enters the danger zone.

System 12 is also capable of performing one or more vehicle functions30. For example, should the lane departure warning system 36 detect thatthe vehicle equipped with the system is intending to make or is making alane change and the driver has neglected to turn on the appropriate turnsignal indicators, then the system performs a vehicle function 30 ofautomatically turning on the turn signals on the appropriate side of thevehicle.

The lane departure warning system 36 of the present invention isoperable to differentiate between solid and dashed lines and doublelines on the road being traveled. Also, should the vehicle be equippedwith a side object detection (SOD) system such as a Doppler radar unitor a camera vision side object detection system that detects thepresence of overtaking vehicles in the adjacent side lane, then the SODsystem can work in conjunction with the lane departure warning systemsuch that as the lane departure system detects that the driver is makinga lane change into a side lane when the SOD system detects an overtakingvehicle in that same side lane, then the driver is alerted and warned ofthe possible hazard, such as by a visual, audible and/or tactile alert.

As indicated above, the forward-facing camera can include stoplight orsign detection, and the system can further include a broadcast withwireless communication system 28 on a safety warning band when theforward-facing camera detects the stoplight or sign and determines thevehicle is not going to stop based on current speed and deceleration.This would warn crossing drivers of an unsafe condition. Such alerts candynamically vary depending on road surface conditions (wet, snow, ice,etc.) as visually detected and determined by the forward-facing,road-monitoring camera. For example, wet or snowy roads would change thedistance and/or speed at which it would warn based on camera visionrecognition of stoplights and/or stop signs. When approaching astoplight when it changes or the vehicle does not slow down for thelight after the driver was warned, the system can blow the horn and/orflash the lights to warn vehicles at the stoplight of the oncomingvehicle. The car may also broadcast one of the safety alerts radardetectors pick up.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments canbe carried out without departing from the principles of the invention,which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appendedclaims, as interpreted according to the principles of patent lawincluding the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A driver assistance system for a vehicle, said driver assistancesystem comprising: a forward facing camera having a field of view thatencompasses the road ahead of the equipped vehicle; said forward facingcamera comprising a CMOS imaging sensor; wherein said forward facingcamera views lane markers on the road being traveled by the equippedvehicle; a control comprising an image processor; wherein image datacaptured by said forward facing camera is processed by said imageprocessor; wherein said image processor processes data at a processingspeed of at least about 5 MIPS; wherein, at least in part responsive toprocessing by said image processor of image data captured by saidforward facing camera, an alert to a driver of the equipped vehicle isgenerated based upon at least one of (i) detection of an inappropriatelane change maneuver of the equipped vehicle and (ii) a detection of apotential impact with another vehicle; wherein said control receivesvehicle data relating to the equipped vehicle via a vehicle bus of theequipped vehicle; wherein said image processor processes image datacaptured by said forward facing camera to detect a traffic controldevice present within the field of view of said forward facing camera;and wherein, when the detected traffic control device requires at leastone of (i) a reduction of speed of the equipped vehicle and (ii) thatthe equipped vehicle come to a stop, and when said control determinesthat the equipped vehicle is not appropriately responding based on atleast one of (i) a current speed of the equipped vehicle and (ii) adeceleration of the equipped vehicle, an alert is generated to alert thedriver that the equipped vehicle is not appropriately responding to thedetected traffic control device.
 2. The driver assistance system ofclaim 1, wherein said control, responsive to processing by said imageprocessor of image data captured by said forward facing camera, detectsat least one of solid lines, dashed lines and double lines on the roadbeing traveled by the equipped vehicle.
 3. The driver assistance systemof claim 1, wherein said traffic control device is one of a stop signand a stop light requiring that the equipped vehicle come to a stop andwherein said alert indicative that the equipped vehicle is not stoppingat the detected stoplight or stop sign comprises at least one of (a) avisual alert, (b) a vibration alert, (c) an audible alert, (d) a voicecommand and (e) a heads-up-display alert.
 4. The driver assistancesystem of claim 1, wherein said image processor processes image datafrom at least one other camera of the equipped vehicle and wherein saidother camera is located at an exterior side view mirror assembly of theequipped vehicle.
 5. The driver assistance system of claim 1, whereinsaid control receives input from a global positioning system and whereinsaid image processor processes data at a processing speed of at leastabout 30 MIPS.
 6. The driver assistance system of claim 5, wherein saidalert indicative that the equipped vehicle is appropriately respondingto the detected traffic control device is generated at least in partresponsive to an input from said global positioning system.
 7. Thedriver assistance system of claim 1, wherein said image processorprocesses data at a processing speed of at least about 12 MIPS.
 8. Thedriver assistance system of claim 1, including a radar sensor mounted atthe equipped vehicle, wherein radar data from said radar sensor isreceived by said control and wherein image data and radar data are fusedat said control.
 9. The driver assistance system of claim 1, whereinsaid vehicle bus comprises at least one of (a) a CAN bus of the vehicleand (b) a LIN bus of the vehicle.
 10. The driver assistance system ofclaim 1, wherein said vehicle data comprises at least one of speed datarelating to the equipped vehicle and steering data relating to theequipped vehicle.
 11. The driver assistance system of claim 1, includinga wireless communication system and wherein at least one of (i)information on road conditions is receivable at the equipped vehicle viasaid wireless communication system and (ii) said control is operable totransmit safety warnings via said wireless communication system.
 12. Thedriver assistance system of claim 11, wherein, when said controldetermines if said vehicle is not appropriately responding to saiddetected traffic control device and when said control determines thatthe equipped vehicle may be in hazard of a collision, at least one of(i) a safety warning to other vehicles is transmitted via a wirelesscommunication system, (ii) a horn of the equipped vehicle is activatedand (iii) headlights of the equipped vehicle are activated.
 13. A driverassistance system for a vehicle, said driver assistance systemcomprising: a forward facing camera having a field of view thatencompasses the road ahead of the equipped vehicle; said forward facingcamera comprising a CMOS imaging sensor; wherein said forward facingcamera views lane markers on the road being traveled by the equippedvehicle; a control comprising an image processor; wherein image datacaptured by said forward facing camera is processed by said imageprocessor; wherein said image processor processes data at a processingspeed of at least about 30 MIPS; wherein, at least in part responsive toprocessing by said image processor of image data captured by saidforward facing camera, an alert to a driver of the equipped vehicle isgenerated based upon at least one of (i) detection of an inappropriatelane change maneuver of the equipped vehicle and (ii) a detection of apotential impact with another vehicle; wherein said control receivesvehicle data relating to the equipped vehicle via a vehicle bus of theequipped vehicle; wherein said image processor processes image datacaptured by said forward facing camera to detect a traffic controldevice present within the field of view of said forward facing camera;wherein said control, responsive to processing by said image processorof image data captured by said forward facing camera, detects at leastone of solid lines, dashed lines and double lines on the road beingtraveled by the equipped vehicle; and wherein, when said control atleast one of (a) determines if said vehicle is not appropriatelyresponding to a detected traffic control device and (b) determines thatthe equipped vehicle is in hazard a collision, an alert is generated toalert the driver, said alert comprising at least one of (a) a visualalert, (b) a vibration alert, (c) an audible alert, (d) a voice commandand (e) a heads-up-display alert.
 14. The driver assistance system ofclaim 13, wherein said vehicle data comprises at least one of speed datarelating to the equipped vehicle and steering data relating to theequipped vehicle.
 15. The driver assistance system of claim 13, wherein,when said control determines if said vehicle is not appropriatelyresponding to said detected traffic control device and when said controldetermines that the equipped vehicle may not stop in time to avoid acollision, at least one of (i) a safety warning to other vehicles istransmitted via a wireless communication system, (ii) a horn of theequipped vehicle is activated and (iii) headlights of the equippedvehicle are activated.
 16. The driver assistance system of claim 13,wherein at least one of (i) said alert indicative that the equippedvehicle is not appropriately responding to the detected traffic controldevice is generated at least in part responsive to an input from saidglobal positioning system and (ii) said vehicle bus comprises at leastone of (a) a CAN bus of the vehicle and (b) a LIN bus of the vehicle.17. The driver assistance system of claim 13, wherein said trafficcontrol device is one of a stop sign and a stop light requiring that theequipped vehicle come to a stop and wherein said alert alerts that theequipped vehicle is not stopping at the detected stoplight or stop sign.18. A driver assistance system for a vehicle, said driver assistancesystem comprising: a forward facing camera having a field of view thatencompasses the road ahead of the equipped vehicle; said forward facingcamera comprising a CMOS imaging sensor; wherein said forward facingcamera views lane markers on the road being traveled by the equippedvehicle; a control comprising an image processor; wherein image datacaptured by said forward facing camera is processed by said imageprocessor; wherein said image processor processes data at a processingspeed of at least about 30 MIPS; wherein, at least in part responsive toprocessing by said image processor of image data captured by saidforward facing camera, an alert to a driver of the equipped vehicle isgenerated based upon at least one of (i) detection of an inappropriatelane change maneuver of the equipped vehicle and (ii) a detection of apotential impact with another vehicle; wherein said control receivesvehicle data relating to the equipped vehicle via a vehicle bus of theequipped vehicle; wherein said vehicle data comprises at least one ofspeed data relating to the equipped vehicle and steering data relatingto the equipped vehicle; wherein said image processor processes imagedata captured by said forward facing camera to detect a traffic controldevice present within the field of view of said forward facing camera;wherein, when said control at least one of (a) determines if saidvehicle is not appropriately responding to a detected traffic controldevice and (b) determines that the equipped vehicle is in hazard of acollision, an alert is generated to alert the driver, said alertcomprising at least one of (a) a visual alert, (b) a vibration alert,(c) an audible alert, (d) a voice command and (e) a heads-up-displayalert; wherein, at least one of (i) said control, responsive toprocessing by said image processor of image data captured by saidforward facing camera, detects at least one of solid lines, dashed linesand double lines on the road being traveled by the equipped vehicle,(ii) said alert indicative that the equipped vehicle is notappropriately responding to the detected traffic control device isgenerated at least in part responsive to an input from said globalpositioning system, (iii) said vehicle bus comprises a CAN bus of thevehicle and (iv) said vehicle bus comprises a LIN bus of the vehicle;and wherein said traffic control device is one of a stop sign and a stoplight requiring that the equipped vehicle come to a stop and whereinsaid alert alerts that the equipped vehicle is not stopping at thedetected stoplight or stop sign.
 19. The driver assistance system ofclaim 18, wherein said image processor processes image data from atleast one other camera of the equipped vehicle and wherein said othercamera is located at an exterior side view mirror assembly of theequipped vehicle.
 20. The driver assistance system of claim 18,including a radar sensor mounted at the equipped vehicle, wherein radardata from said radar sensor is received by said control and whereinimage data and radar data are fused at said control.